美国国家公共电台 NPR--For a chance at a better life, Venezuelans head toward the U.S. border

For a chance at a better life, Venezuelans head toward the U.S. border

Transcript¹

Large numbers of migrants from Venezuela are traveling thousands of miles to the U.S.-Mexico border, as their nation experiences food shortages² and high inflation³.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You may recall the other day when Florida's governor made a political point by arranging to deceive Venezuelan migrants and ship them to Martha's Vineyard from Texas. Turns out, there is a larger story of Venezuelan migrants. They're arriving in large numbers at the U.S. border with Mexico, trying to escape their country's troubles. Manuel Rueda caught up with some of the migrants who are just leaving Venezuela.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)

MANUEL RUEDA, BYLINE⁴: Wilmar Carrero is walking on his own along a road that leads out of Venezuela and into the center of Colombia. He carries a large backpack that weighs about 40 pounds and is stuffed with canned foods, medicine and clothes for hot and cold weather.

WILMAR CARRERO: (Speaking Spanish).

RUEDA: Carrero, 32, says he was working in potato and onion farms in his home state of Merida, but it only paid about $5 a day and wasn't enough to support his twin daughters. Now he wants to go to New York and is trying to hitchhike there.

CARRERO: (Speaking Spanish.)

RUEDA: "I know that I'm human, and I'm running a lot of risks," he says. "But I believe in God and in destiny⁵."

More than 6 million people have left Venezuela since 2014 to escape hyperinflation, food shortages and the lowest wages in South America.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOTOR VEHICLE)

RUEDA: In Pamplona, a Colombian town that's just 50 miles from the border with Venezuela, it's easy to spot Venezuelan migrants heading to different countries. Many stop at a shelter on the edge of town that provides free meals and blue gym mats for people to sleep on.

Genesis Gomez travelled on foot with her two baby daughters and five relatives. They had been on the road for two weeks and were headed to the Colombian city of Bucaramanga.

GENESIS GOMEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

RUEDA: "In Venezuela, there were many nights when we were going to bed without food," she says. "We made a living from fishing, but it was no longer possible to do that 'cause gasoline for our boat was getting too expensive." In these shelters, it's also becoming more common to find people who want to go to the United States.

Wilmar Carrero, who is headed to New York, says that he spent a year working at a shrimp⁶ factory in Ecuador. He gave up on it after realizing he was spending most of his salary on food and rent.

CARRERO: (Speaking Spanish).

RUEDA: "In South American countries, you can make enough to eat. But you don't prosper," he says. "I think that it's different in America. I can save more money there and help my family to buy a house."

To get to the United States, Carrero will have to cross the Darien Gap, a jungle with no roads that divides Colombia from Central America. Many migrants have been robbed there by drug gangs, and some have been killed. But Carrero is hoping to make it safely. On his cellphone, he gets voice messages from friends who've already crossed the Darien and provide advice.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).

RUEDA: "You need to take a boat to the port of Carreto so that you only have to walk through the jungle for 2 1/2 days," says one message.

Experts say that criminal groups have now established several smuggling⁷ routes for Venezuelan migrants, which has encouraged even more people to travel to the United States. Last month, the Border Patrol⁸ encountered Venezuelans 25,000 times along the border with Mexico, a monthly record. Back on the road, Wilmar Carrero still has weeks to go before he makes it to the U.S. border, but he's optimistic about his chances.

CARRERO: (Speaking Spanish).

RUEDA: "After making all of this effort, I don't think they'll turn me back," he says. "In any case, you have to take the risk. It's the only way to know for sure."

Manuel Rueda, NPR News, Cucuta, Colombia.

(SOUNDBITE OF OLDTWIG'S "DUNES")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 destiny   

n.命运，定数，天命

参考例句：

• Nobody knows his own destiny.没有人知道自己的命运。
• It was her destiny to become famous.她命里注定出名。

6 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 patrol   

v.巡逻，巡查；n.巡逻，巡查，巡逻队

参考例句：

• They attacked two soldiers on patrol.他们袭击了两名正在巡逻的士兵。
• Policemen patrol the streets.警察在街上巡逻。